Your Practice Management Software Might Be Missing Out On Engagement

If you’re using practice management software for your dental practice, you already know the incredible benefits that this kind of software can provide. Switching from manual to automated tasks provides incredible time savings for your staff. The ability to store patient information so thoroughly with HIPAA and PIPEDA approved software is a great relief to many practices.

Many practice management software systems include an integrated communication tool. So, you may well be asking, what role can specialized patient engagement software play for your practice?

Patient engagement software in action

The biggest difference between a small communication component in a larger program, and a specialized engagement tool is scope.

Patient engagement software can encompass the full scope of patient communication needs.

With patient engagement software, those automated tasks can go a step further. Many engagement  tools automate sending digital forms before an appointment. These forms are specific to the appointment type, so that your patient is always getting pertinent forms. This also allows your patient to fill the forms out before their appointment, creating time-savings for your office. 

This is only one example. One of the ways that a specialized communication software can really make a difference for your practice is in specialized messaging cadences. These will differ, depending on your specialty. Think of the difference between:

• A general practice that needs to remind a patient to come in for a routine teeth cleaning. 
• An OMS practice that has to send fasting and pre-medication reminders for a tooth extraction.

In the first example, your practice might send an email to remind the patient that they are due for a cleaning. In the email, you might prompt them to book their appointment. Then, once they have booked, as a best practice you would likely send them a reminder two days before the appointment, then another two hours before.

However, for an OMS practice arranging an extraction, reminders are required for the consultation as well as the procedure itself. In addition to the usual appointment, your practice has to send pre-op instructions, such as fasting reminders and pre-medication reminders for the procedure.

Patient engagement software organizes and automates all these complex communication cadences, broadening the scope of meeting your communication needs.

A quick word about HIPAA and PIPEDA

When choosing patient engagement software, it’s also crucial to ensure that the platform is fully compliant with privacy regulations like HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) in the U.S. and PIPEDA (Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act) in Canada. Compliance isn’t just about protecting sensitive patient data — it’s about building trust. Patients are more likely to engage openly and consistently with your practice when they know their personal health information is secure. A platform that prioritizes data security not only helps you meet legal requirements but also reassures patients that their confidentiality and care are your top priorities.

Patient engagement is not just software

While software is an integral part of patient engagement, it’s not the only part that is important to consider. Engaging with your patients is a key part of the patient experience.

The patient experience is the comprehensive experience that your patients have at your practice. Building an empathetic practice is all-important to this experience. The role of empathy in positive healthcare relationships has been the subject of numerous studies. What’s great about this is that it gives you a great roadmap to achieving that at your practice. Knowledge is power! Active listening, involving patients in decision-making, and honesty are essential to helping patients feel safe at your practice.

Of course, patient engagement doesn’t begin and end with digital forms and appointment reminders. A good patient engagement software and add-ons will also give you the option to:

• Prompt your patients for feedback, including valuable Google and social media reviews
• Organize constructive feedback in a database so you can see where you can improve
• Create customized templates for your forms and emails that reflect what information you need to gather from your patients
• Allow your patients to choose between receiving messaging by phone, text, or email
• Maintain a high level of engagement with your patients without sacrificing staff time to manual tasks
• And more

At Intiveo, we’re dedicated to patient engagement

Intiveo offers a library of resources for dental and oral surgery practices across Canada and the United States, including guides, templates packages, and more! You can also check out our podcast, The Patient Experience Blueprint.

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